How Keith Andrews is proving the doubters wrong at Brentford: JAMES SHARPE reveals the whole-club summit, scribbled mantras on the walls, Google executives, rugby coaches, and aggressive style that are taking Bees to new heights

The morning after Brentford’s 3-2 victory against Liverpool, the players filed into the training ground for their usual post-match debrief, this time with more than just a little extra spring in their step.

Only on this occasion manager Keith Andrews had moved the meeting to the larger gym and invited every single staff member to attend, from the analysts to the kit man and the kitchen staff.

He wanted them all to be there to know that each of them, in their own unique way, had played their part in one of the most famous wins in the club’s history.

They were part of a club that had just equalled its best start to a Premier League campaign, at a time when so many expected Brentford and Andrews to falter during a period of dramatic change and uncertainty after a summer in which they lost their charismatic leader and a slew of key stars.

Manager Thomas Frank to Tottenham. Captain Christian Norgaard to Arsenal. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen. Top scorers Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa to Manchester United and Newcastle, with the latter only forcing through his move after going on strike.

And Andrews, the club’s set-piece coach and former Sky Sports EFL pundit, was handed the task of dealing with it all in his first job in management. All the best, Keith.

And yet that incredible Liverpool win took Brentford to 13 points from their opening nine games, a tally matched in their five Premier League campaigns only by their start last season under Frank. Four wins and a draw.

Only this time Brentford have beaten Aston Villa, Manchester United and now Liverpool along the way. They held Chelsea to a draw at the Gtech Stadium. Last season, those four wins came against Crystal Palace, Southampton, Wolves and Ipswich.

Even a point at Palace on Saturday would be enough to make it their biggest haul after 10 Premier League games, a remarkable feat after losing 39 league goals in Mbeumo and Wissa.

Yet only the Big Six and high-flying Bournemouth have scored more goals than Brentford so far. Only Erling Haaland has more than Bees striker Igor Thiago.

That was also why the final slide of Andrews’ post-Liverpool presentation made sure to turn the attention to their Carabao Cup meeting with Grimsby two days later, as he  showed the attendees an image of the English football pyramid.

He wanted the club not just to make sure they capitalised on a famous victory - which they did with a ruthless 5-0 win - but also to remember that their opponents were their League Two rivals 16 years ago.

It's the same reason why players often see little words or phrases scribbled by Andrews on the walls around the training ground. They remind the squad of the journey they have been on, but ensure they maintain the determination and desire to keep striding forward. He carries a notepad with him to jot down ones for himself.

Never forget how far this club, and indeed Andrews, have come.

Brentford began the season as the bookies’ joint-favourites to go down. Andrews was favourite to be the first manager sacked. The Bees were meant to struggle and toil as they tried to rebuild. So many clubs would have done.

But this is Brentford and they do things differently. They make decisions that others never would and, so often, those decisions turn out to be the right ones. 

Club insiders told Daily Mail Sport ahead of the season that owner Matthew Benham, the gambling tycoon whose data-led approach has been key to Brentford’s success, wouldn’t panic. He’d have crunched the numbers and concluded the gamble was worth it to promote from within once again, as Brentford had with Frank in 2018 and Mark Warburton in 2013. But Benham knew it was a gamble nonetheless. Andrews knew it too. It’s one that appears to be paying off.

Andrews cancelled his holiday when Brentford director of football Phil Giles called to discuss the possibility of replacing Frank and two days later he pitched his plan to a panel that included Benham, who had also cut short his own holiday to be there.

His first task after getting the job was to decide what part of Frank’s kingdom he wanted to keep and what new ideas of his own he wanted to implement. The two remain close and speak regularly.

Andrews wanted to make Brentford awkward to play against. He wanted to give them an edge. Last season, only Manchester City committed fewer fouls and were shown fewer yellow cards. Andrews wanted that to change. So far this term, Brentford have committed the sixth most fouls and only three teams have received more bookings.

From the very first training session, he wanted to make it competitive. Leaderboards with the best performing players in certain drills are pinned up in the canteen. Andrews wants the players to lead by example. He’ll ask the likes of captain Nathan Collins and new signing Jordan Henderson to set the tone.

He's said to be challenging of his players in meetings but still wants to hear music blaring around the training ground. Andrews is more of a country fan but it’s usually techno and house that blasts around the place. Those who have watched his sessions say how tactile he is, lots of hugs and high-fives. During pre-season he encouraged his players to come up with a ‘word of the week’ and quizzed them to see if they could remember it. One of them was ‘joy’.

His communication is said to be clear and concise, delivered in that unmistakable Dublin accent. During his half-time team-talks, he lets his players speak between themselves before stepping in to give his key pointers of his own while showing them some videos from his analysts.

It’s the same with his match preparation. Keep things simple: play to your team’s strengths and exploit your opponent’s weakness. Is their worst player the right-sided centre back? Expose him again and again.

That’s why there’s been a slight change in style under Andrews. His Brentford are having less of the ball, pressing less, far fewer passes but they are getting it forward at speed. Only Burnley are averaging less possession than Brentford, only Palace move the ball up-field quicker, and no side has produced fewer passages of play with 10 or more passes than Brentford. They have already scored as many goals from fast breaks this season as they did in the entirety of the last campaign.

This style suits their fast, direct forward line of Kevin Schade, record signing Dango Ouattara and ruthless striker Thiago.

The Brazilian's form under Andrews has been astonishing. He missed most of last season through injury but has slipped seamlessly into the gap left behind by Wissa’s bitter exit. That was a transfer saga that could easily have torn the club apart, but it has instead given Thiago the chance to shine.

After scoring against West Ham, he raced straight over to Andrews and jumped into his manager’s arms.

‘I felt for him a lot,’ said Andrews after the Hammers win. ‘I used to get him involved in a lot of set-piece routines and opposition clips last season, to integrate him into the group. I think we’re really good as a club at doing that. I suppose I just cared, ultimately.’

It’s watching Thiago bang them in, or 21-year-old Yehor Yarmoliuk thrive as the all-action midfielder alongside Henderson, or Michael Kayode bomb forward from right back and pepper opposition boxes with his long throws that provides the most fulfilment when Andrews is walking his dog, Buddy the cockapoo.

‘The one thing we have got is individual brilliance,’ said Andrews. ‘I think we really have that in the squad, players capable of moments.

'That comes from the environment, the support they get, the training model, as we are big on developing players' individual qualities.’

Andrews has been shaped by the managers he worked under – for good and bad. Roy Hodgson’s understanding of the positional side of the game at West Brom. Sam Allardyce’s ability to break down a game using data. How Giovanni Trapattoni would relentlessly drill down into the basics.

But also the manager who wouldn’t look him in the eye when he wasn’t in the team. He remembered that too.

He also prepared for his first step into management by listening to people from worlds other than football. He had long chats with Lions head coach Andy Farrell, consulted South Africa rugby coaches and found mentors in directors at Google.

He shadowed Gaelic football teams to see how they prepared their players. He put his golf clubs into storage, keen to dedicate his free time to education.

During the August international break, former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley visited the training ground. Ireland rugby legend Johnny Sexton recently spent two days with Andrews and his squad, observing sessions and speaking with the players.

Andrews knew, more than anything, he had to get results quickly. Defeat at Forest on the opening day was not ideal, certainly not with the transfer window bringing so many headaches. It would not have taken many more losses for the know-it-alls to start shaking their heads.

Because Andrews has had his critics. Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane, whose Ireland team Andrews lambasted, have not been shy in giving their own opinion of their countryman. Wayne Rooney backed them to go down under Andrews.

That’s why Andrews has instructed his wife and close friends not to send him any headlines, not even the good ones, because he knows how quickly it all can change in this game.

For now, though, he appears to be proving those doubters wrong - and Brentford right yet again.